Michael Pinnella

Michael Pinnella ( born August 29, 1969 in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, USA ) is the U.S. keyboardist of the progressive metal band Symphony X.

From a young age, Michael began to learn piano. He was particularly fascinated by the great classical and baroque composers such as Bach and Mozart. Later, during his piano studies, he began increasingly to deal with keyboards and synthesizers. Musically he was influenced during this time by Deep Purple, ELP, Kansas, and Dio, and particularly by Yngwie Malmsteen, to connect its way Baroque music with Heavy Metal, impressed him; there were his two favorite musical styles that have been merged here.

The strong influence of classical music can be - as well as with his band mates, guitarist Michael Romeo - also in Pinnellas keyboard playing at Symphony X hear. In 2004 he recorded his first solo album. The CD titled "Enter By The Twelfth Gate" contains only instrumental tracks, which can be particularly noticeable on his classic influences; the music is quite different from the progressive and symphonic metal of his regular band.